The invention relates to jewelry items, in particular necklaces and necklace accessories.
A very common item of jewelry is a necklace. A necklace generally comprises a chain or line made of some precious metal, or it could be a strand of beads of some precious stone or jewel, such as pearls.
Frequently, necklaces are further adorned with accessories of various kinds. Such accessories could include a precious gem or other display which is allowed to hang from the necklace and affixed with a loop or attachment of some kind. One popular necklace accessory is a cameo. Additionally, necklace accessories often include a means of displaying a small photograph in a frame. The necklace itself may be made of gold or silver and have substantial value without an accessory. It is not uncommon that the same necklace is used with a variety of different necklace accessories.
Magnetic fields and magnetic implements are often used to secure small display items to a display frame. Magnetism is advantageous as an adhesive because it does not require adjustment or tools nor does it require the use of chemicals which may be difficult to work with or dangerous. Magnetism is also substantially unaffected by the elements or moisture. It is reliable and simple to work with. Finally, objects adhered by magnetism may be easily removed and replaced or be substituted with another object which is of magnetic attraction.
While the display and securing of larger pictures and displays may not be satisfactorily and simply accomplished with magnetism alone, smaller items, such as those which would be appropriate for display in a jewelry accessory, could be adequately secured and appropriately displayed with a magnetic field as the sole means of adhesion.
With respect to the means of framing works of art or other items for display, a number of patents have been issued which in some manner incorporate the use of magnetism in order to achieve an appropriate display. For instance, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,301,444, issued to Horiuchi on Apr. 12, 1994, a marine display incorporates a rotating magnet in order to cause an animated fish to make movements which assimilate the actions of a natural fish. A background plate in the housing behind the liquid vessel imparts a marine-like appearance to the display, but is not used with the magnet.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,979,323, issued to Wenkman on Dec. 25, 1990, a frame with an integral outer margin and a back plate to mount a picture, photograph or certificate. However, the magnet in Wenkman is used to mount the frame assembly to some other vertical surface and not for the purpose of achieving security of the displayed photograph, certificate or other item. In particular, Wenkman mentions the magnet as useful for a refrigerator Wenkman, when used with a magnet, depends upon a metallic mounting surface.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,186,631, issued to Okutsu on Feb. 16, 1993, incorporates a magnetic display panel which is fixably mounted. In Okutsu the display itself is magnetic and magnetism is used to both create and erase the display within the panel and not to mount the display.
Finally, U.S. Pat. No. 5,075,991, also issued to Wenkman on Dec. 31, 1991, again, the magnet is used to mount the frame assembly upon a vertical surface rather than to secure a work of art within the frame. Wenkman 1991 comprises an improvement in the frame assembly and teaches no new use of the magnet.
What is not provided in the prior art is a frame assembly in which magnetic energy may be used to secure and hold a work of art within a frame. In particular, such has never been applied to a necklace or other item of jewelry. It would be useful to devise an item of jewelry in which magnetism could be used to secure a work of art within a small frame and allow for the display of a variety of art items or other small displays.
The Inventor has overcome the shortcomings of the prior art by devising a necklace accessory and necklace combination accessory which uses magnetism as the sole source of adhesion of a small display item to be incorporated into the jewelry. Generally, the invention comprises an attractive and lightweight display frame which is adapted to frame an art or display plate. The art or display plate is made of a substance which will sense the attraction of a magnetic field and be held in place by such magnetic field.
The primary embodiment of the apparatus comprises a four-sided frame, with one of the sides being open to allow a magnetically-backed display of art to be slid or placed in and out very easily and can be sufficiently adhered to the frame by a magnetic field from a magnet positioned within the frame member to withstand reasonable movement and jostling. The display frame is further adapted with a means of securing it to a necklace chain and may be made in a variety of shapes.
It will be seen that the principles of the present invention may be practiced with a display frame manufactured in a variety of sizes and shapes. All that is required is a frame which will provide a channel into a display plate and then may be snugly fit or slid, into a channel which is supported, or blocked, on a bottom side, and in which a magnet is positioned so as to be sufficiently strong and proximate to the display plate to hold it in place.
It is, then, an object of the present invention to provide a jewelry display frame in which standard sizes of a metallic display with art or other displays placed and adhered on a front side and may be easily inserted and removed and held into place by a magnet positioned behind the frame member.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide such a display frame which uses magnetism as its sole source of adhesion.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide such an assembly which may be easily and attractively affixed upon a necklace line.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide such a magnet frame member which may be made with a variety of ornamental decoration.
It is further object of the present invention to provide a frame member which incorporates the principles of the present invention with displays which may be of a suitable regular shape.
Other features and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following description in which the preferred embodiments have been set forth in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.